The present invention relates to a resilient fibrous insulation batt, and, in particular, to a resilient pre-cut fibrous insulation batt including two or more batt sections, that are separably connected together and can be torn away or separated by hand from the remainder of the batt, without the need to use a cutting tool, to form a batt having a lesser width than the pre-cut fibrous insulation batt for insulating a wall, floor, ceiling or roof cavity having a width less than the width of the pre-cut fibrous insulation batt and a method of making such a batt
Building structures, such as residential houses, industrial buildings, office buildings, mobile homes, prefabricated buildings and similar structures, typically include walls (both interior and exterior), ceilings, floors, and roofs that are insulated for thermal and/or acoustical purposes, especially exterior walls, the ceilings below open attic spaces, and the roofs of such structures. The walls, ceilings, floors and roofs of these structures include framing members, e.g. studs, rafters, floor and ceiling joists, beams and similar support or structural members which are normally spaced-apart standard distances established by the building industry. Sheathing, paneling, lathing or similar construction materials are secured to these framing members to form the walls, ceilings, floors and roofs of the structures. While the builder or contractor seeks to maintain the spacing of the framing members in these structures at these standard distances for ease of construction and the insulation of the elongated cavities formed in these walls, ceilings, floors and roofs, frequently, the walls, ceilings, floors and roofs of these structures include elongated cavities defined, at least in part, by successive or adjacent framing members which are spaced-apart nonstandard distances less than the standard distance between framing members. Studies have shown that in a typical residential home, it is not uncommon for 25% or more of the framing members in the exterior walls of these structures to be spaced-apart at nonstandard distances less than the standard distance for such framing members. Thus, there has been a need for providing contractors with insulation batts that can be quickly and easily installed in a structure to insulate both standard and many nonstandard width cavities without the need to cut the insulation batts with a knife or other cutting tool to fit the cavities of nonstandard widths.
The insulation batt of the present invention provides a solution to the problem discussed above. The resilient pre-cut fibrous insulation batt of the present invention includes first and second resilient fibrous insulation blankets. While the insulation blankets may be made from other fibers, preferably, the blankets are made of glass fibers. The blankets each have a first major surface with one or more longitudinally extending cuts in the surface that are spaced inwardly from lateral edges of the surface and spaced apart from each other. The cuts, which may be continuous or discontinuous, only partially sever the blankets to form separable connectors in the blankets that join adjacent blanket sections formed by the cuts. The first major surfaces of the blankets are bonded to each other, with the cuts in the major surfaces of the blankets aligned longitudinally, to form a batt with longitudinally extending batt sections joined by the separable connectors in the blankets whereby the batt can be handled as a unit or one or more batt sections can be separated from the remainder of the batt by hand to form a batt of lesser width. Preferably, the cut(s) in each blanket have a maximum depth less than the thickness of the blanket so that the second major surfaces of the blankets, which form the outer major surfaces of the batt, remain uncut. The outer major surfaces of the batts can be marked longitudinally in alignment with the cut(s) to show the installer where the resilient pre-cut fibrous insulation batt can be separated into sections by hand to form a batt having a lesser width to insulate wall, floor, ceiling, and roof cavities having widths less than the width of the pre-cut fibrous insulation batt
In a preferred method of making the resilient pre-cut fibrous insulation batt of the present invention, a resilient insulation blanket is fed through a cutting station where the blanket is cut transversely intermediate its major surfaces, in a plane parallel to the major surfaces of the blanket, to form first and second blankets of the same width having thicknesses less than the original insulation blanket or, rather than cutting an insulation blanket intermediate its major surfaces to form two blankets of lesser width, first and second blankets of the same width are selected to form the resilient pre-cut fibrous insulation batt The opposed major surfaces of the first and second blankets are then cut or severed longitudinally. The one or more cuts formed in each of the opposed inner major surfaces of the first and second blankets: are spaced inwardly from lateral edges of the major surfaces; are spaced apart from each other; and extend parallel to the lateral edges of the major surfaces and each other. Preferably, the cut or cuts in each blanket, which may be continuous or discontinuous cuts, have a maximum depth less than the thickness of the blanket so that the outer major surface of the blanket is uncut. An adhesive or bonding agent is then applied to one or both of the opposed major surfaces of the first and second blankets and the opposed major surfaces of the blankets are then brought into contact and bonded together to form, the resilient fibrous insulation batt with the cuts in the opposed major surfaces of the first and second blanket in longitudinal alignment. Lines or other marking can then be made on one or both of the outer major surfaces of the batt, in alignment with the cuts, to show the installer where the batt can be separated.